


Perfume and Rain

by twtd



Series: Perfume and Rain [1]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-05-15
Updated: 2007-05-15
Packaged: 2017-10-02 14:14:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twtd/pseuds/twtd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Even though this was inspired by "Perfume and Rain" by Ellis Larkins, the rain in it only showed up because it was raining when I started it. That's right, I'm that amazingly oblivious.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Perfume and Rain

**Author's Note:**

> Even though this was inspired by "Perfume and Rain" by Ellis Larkins, the rain in it only showed up because it was raining when I started it. That's right, I'm that amazingly oblivious.

It was the syncopation of the rhythm, as though the slightly offbeat tapping was trying unsuccessfully to blend into the sound of the rain, which alerted Liz to the artificiality of the noise. It was clearly man made, clearly not the wind pushing the extra large drops that collected on the window ledges free and against her door. Someone braved the storm to come and see her, and Liz had no interest in finding out who it was. In fact, she hoped that if she ignored the tapping, whoever it was would get sick of standing in the rain and simply go away.

When the tapping repeated, stronger and more distinct, Liz sighed, turned off Larry King, and went to answer the door. She didn't know who she expected it to be, but Casey Novak, looking like she had just pulled herself out of the Hudson, did not even make her list.

"Casey? What the...?" She didn't finish the sentence. Instead, she grabbed Casey's arm and pulled her inside before she had a chance to answer. "Stay put. I'll be right back." Liz went to grab some towels, trusting that Casey had the sense not to track water across her hardwood floors. She returned a moment later and handed Casey a towel. Casey took it and immediately wiped her face. The rain had concealed the tear tracks, but her eyes were still too red to go unnoticed. She handed the damp towel back to Liz and wordlessly accepted a second dry one. Liz waited while Casey finished drying what she could. Casey's voice was hoarse when she finally spoke.

"Thank you. I, um," she swallowed and nervously looked away. Liz could smell a hint of gin on her breath. It was a smell that she associated with her father's favorite Sunday indulgence. " I shouldn't have…I should probably just…" She swallowed again and leaned toward the door. Liz pursed her lips, not sure why she was uncomfortable just letting Casey leave.

"I can't very well let you go back out into the rain. There's a robe in the bathroom. I'll put your clothes in the dryer, and then you can tell me why you're here." Her look dared Casey to challenge her, and for a moment, Casey looked liked she might. As quickly as it came, the look passed, and Casey walked back toward the bathroom.

Liz went into the kitchen, and started making tea, pouring a shot of brandy into each mug. Casey looked like she could use it, and Liz had a feeling that she would be thankful for it before night was through. She was just reentering the living room as Casey appeared with her clothing in hand. Liz replaced the clothing with a mug of tea, her own already sitting on an end table.

"Sit." It was clearly a command. When she returned empty handed from the basement, Casey was sitting on the edge of the couch. She looked like she was ready to run, but Liz was certain that her current lack of clothing would at least confine her to the house.

"So, are you going to tell me why you're here?" Liz sat on the opposite end of the couch. She could smell her own perfume on the robe that Casey was wearing. She had offered it without thinking, but now the gesture seemed inappropriately intimate.

Before she answered, Casey, without flinching, took a sip of the still too hot tea. "The case that I lost last week," her voice was almost flat. "I found out that the boy tried to commit suicide yesterday. He's, well, he isn't fine, but he wasn't successful." Casey had been staring into the mug in her hands, but in that moment, she looked up at Liz, the tears back in her eyes. "I don't think that I…" She exhaled in frustration. "No, that's not it. It isn't that I can't do this. I can. I just," she paused again to collect her thoughts and wipe away the tears that she didn't want to cry. "How do you not go home emotionally exhausted every day?"

Liz smiled wryly. "You walked here, in the rain, to ask me a question that you already know doesn't have an answer?"

Casey stood and started pacing. Her hair was drying in stiff tendrils around her face, and the robe made her look oddly at home. "No. I'm here because I was at the bar down the street drinking too much gin because I lost a case and a boy almost died. I came here because I didn't know where else to go. Because I thought…I don't know what I thought. God damn it Liz, I just…" She threw herself back into the couch in exasperation.

"You want to know how I dealt with it?" Liz laughed ruefully. "I drank lots of vodka. I had meaningless sex with women that I never had to see again. And then I got promoted." Casey's shock was evident, although Liz couldn't tell if it was her answer or her honesty that caused it. She used the opportunity to finish her tea. She pretended not to notice Casey staring at her lips as she did so.

She expected that Casey would have something to say, but the silence continued. The sound of the rain filled in the empty spaces, enhancing their isolation. Liz caught herself looking at the edge of her robe as it crossed Casey's chest, following the inevitable trail downward where it wrapped around the tops of Casey's calves. When she looked back up, Casey was blushing lightly, still trying to find something to say.  Liz swallowed reflexively and searched for a way to break the moment. She didn't get the opportunity. Casey gave up on her attempts at conversation and slid closer to Liz, filling up the empty space between them. Liz felt the barest movement of air, air that held the unique smell of intermingled perfume and rain, across her face before Casey kissed her.

Casey's lips were only slightly cooler than her own, and even though Casey was clearly kissing her, it felt almost like kissing herself. She could taste the combined flavors of gin and tea and brandy and something else that had to be unique to Casey. And in that second, she knew that Casey could be just as addictive and just as destructive. Even as Casey was untying the sash of her robe (Liz's robe), the robe that made her seem like she belonged, even as she was guiding Liz's hands to her waist, to her breasts, to her thighs, Liz knew that Casey wouldn't be as easy to walk away from as all of the other women, and it would be for all of the wrong reasons.

Liz wasn't surprised when she woke up and Casey was gone. She was almost certain that she would be back. She picked up her robe from where it had fallen onto the bedroom floor; the smell of Casey's perfume had faded but it still smelled faintly of rain. As she inhaled the scent, she swore that she could still taste gin on her lips, gin and Casey.  


End file.
